Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Increases Position in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (NASDAQ:GLPI) by 1,441.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,750 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,377 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Gaming and Leisure Properties were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GLPI. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 16,476 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $796,000 after acquiring an additional 1,805 shares during the last quarter. Aew Capital Management L P grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 1,786.5% in the 4th quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 761,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,679,000 after acquiring an additional 721,230 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 106.2% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 44,745 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,155,000 after acquiring an additional 23,050 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 220,621 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $10,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Gaming and Leisure Properties by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 152,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,341,000 after acquiring an additional 5,127 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on GLPI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $49.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Gaming and Leisure Properties from $53.25 to $57.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gaming and Leisure Properties presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.96.

Insider Activity at Gaming and Leisure Properties

In related news, Director E Scott Urdang sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total value of $254,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 140,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,173,098.17. This trade represents a 3.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Demchyk sold 1,149 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.80, for a total transaction of $54,922.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 91,620 shares in the company, valued at $4,379,436. The trade was a 1.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,064 shares of company stock worth $2,778,908. Company insiders own 4.37% of the company’s stock.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of GLPI stock opened at $49.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.00. Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.80 and a 1-year high of $52.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 11.35 and a quick ratio of 11.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.81.

Gaming and Leisure Properties (NASDAQ:GLPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $389.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $391.54 million. Gaming and Leisure Properties had a net margin of 51.65% and a return on equity of 17.41%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.11%. Gaming and Leisure Properties’s payout ratio is currently 105.92%.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Company Profile

Gaming & Leisure Properties, Inc engages in the provision of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements. The company was founded on February 13, 2013 and is headquartered in Wyomissing, PA.